Jackson Memorial High School graduate Shannon Watt, now a student and member of the track and field team at Harvard University, competes for a combined Harvard-Yale squad against a combined Oxford-Cambridge team in England on June 28. Former Jackson Memorial High School track and field standout Shannon Watt recently took her talents in the shot put and discus overseas for the first time when she competed in three meets in Wales, Ireland and England with her Harvard University team.
“I was never outside of the United States before,” Watt said with a laugh after returning to the United States. “It’s been a pretty exciting two weeks.”
It was a time of stellar performances for Watt, who recently completed her sophomore year as an environmental engineering major at Harvard in Cambridge, Mass.
Competing in a 40-year tradition, a combined Harvard and Yale team took on a combined Oxford and Cambridge team from England, and Watt won both of her events in the only bad weather day of her visit. With a heavy rain coming down through much of the meet, Watt threw the shot 13.17 meters (43 feet, 2 inches) and the discus 43.27 meters (142 feet) in Cambridge.
“It was amazing. I was really surprised how the universities there took care of us. It was fun competing with Yale instead of going against them as our biggest rival in the Ivy League,” said Watt, who reported that her most enjoyable sightseeing experience was at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. She said part of her heritage is Welsh.
In the Welsh Athletics Swansea International meet in Swansea, Wales, on June 11, Watt dominated the throwing events as she did throughout her trip, throwing the shot 13.30 meters (43 feet, 7 inches) and the discus 46.77 meters (153 feet, 9 inches), which was nine meters (nearly 29 feet) beyond her nearest competitor. Watt’s throw in the discus at the Swansea International was her second best as a collegian, behind a 47.53 measure (155 feet, 4 inches) she hit at an open meet earlier this year.
“The discus is going awesome. I’m close to PR’ing [throwing a personal record] in every meet this year,” she said. “Recently, I’ve been just trying to push off the circle harder and it’s been helping me.”
In the first competition of her trip, the Limerick Meet in Ireland on June 18, Watt won the shot put and discus and her Harvard teammate Alysha Johnson finished second in the shot put.
Johnson recently completed her freshman year at Harvard.
“She wasn’t happy with her performance in that meet, but she kept improving as the trip went along,” Watt said of Johnson. “It’s just like during the outdoor season when she kept improving every meet.”
Watt had a perplexing spring in the shot put as her best finish was a sixth-place showing in the Ivy League outdoor championships. Watt was third in the discus at the Ivy League championships and ninth in the ECAC championships.
“I’m not sure what happened outdoors” in the shot put, Watt said. “Because I focused on the discus, I lost practice time for the shot. This summer I’m switching my technique back to what it was. I really need to fix it in the back because I spin too much before I throw. I overstep and lose the momentum and go out a lot behind it. When I hit the middle, my shoulders open up and I don’t get as much force as I should.”
Watt was fifth in the shot put at the Ivy League winter championships. She said she will also work harder in the weight room, especially once she returns to Harvard just before Labor Day weekend.
Indoors on Feb. 5, Watt threw the shot 13.62 meters (44 feet, 8 inches), second only to Johnson’s winning 13.80 meters (45 feet, 3 inches) in the Battle of Beantown as Harvard repeated as the team champion.
Watt’s throw in that meet tied her best effort of the season and qualified her for the ECAC competition. After that season, things got difficult for Watt in the shot put.
“This year was big because I struggled in the shot put and learned about myself and dealing with adversity,” Watt said. “I wasn’t hitting any PRs like I was used to and not everything was going right, but I realized that if I fight through it and keep throwing, I’ll come out of it.”
Glory in high school as a perennial NJSIAA Meet of Champions medalist will not come easily in the discus for Watt, who said that she and two other top throwers in the Ivy League all just finished their sophomore year at their schools.
“With our competitiveness, we’ll all push each other to get better,” Watt said.
For now, Watt is reflecting at home in Jackson about a memorable two weeks overseas when she competed well in places that are steeped in tradition.